Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the students’ anxiety, motivation and attitude in learning English based on their socioeconomic status and English language achievement in National-type Tamil schools. Samples for this study comprised of 144 year 5 Indian students from four Tamil schools. Data for this study were collected by questionnaire adapted from instruments by Tsai & Chang (2013), Ghazvini & Khajehpour (2011) and Gaur (1985). The findings of this study showed that Indian students from urban and rural areas have a moderate level of anxiety in learning English. Students from both areas were instrumentally motivated and showed positive attitudes towards learning English. However, negative correlations were identified between English Language achievement and level of motivation in learning English as well as between daily spoken languages at home and with friends and the level of English language achievement. The result of this study also illustrated that level of motivation and attitude are positively correlated. In conclusion, the samples of this study showed high levels of anxiety as well as motivation and attitude in learning English. It is recommended that future research take more samples and include qualitative data to increase the reliability of the study.

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